If you can dream it, you can do it. The creative possibilities for branding using visual media seem to be limitless, as recently demonstrated by our friends at Trizz. Galicia Distillery wanted something that took viewers on “an exquisite journey of tastes” and represented their internationally acclaimed brandy, Renuage. Trizz delivered.

With breathtaking CGI, the first sip of Renuage is experienced using visual metaphors that demonstrate the delicate flavors and sensory moments from lips to finish.

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We asked Trizz a few questions about the campaign and their thoughts on the future of CGI and advertising.

How does CGI expand on creative possibilities with branding?

Computer Generated Imagery (technically) is a powerful tool that provides the client and brand manager all the possibilities of attaining their visual brand goals.

This opens the doors for invention, harnessing innovative strategy, and as a visual result, this enhances creative problem solving.

Market Competition and product communication strategy are a large part of the job of branding. Usually Trizz is briefed on big goals and then through planning, we focus on what the client knows they want, making that visible and tangible through a mix of creativity, technology, and understanding facts.

What do you predict for the future of CGI?

To be honest, all 3D software sucks and the required matching hardware is not developed yet. Software has to find a way that allows the artist to just do their work without a technical battle
rendering all the math complexity stuck to hardware. But real-time interaction will promote creativity, anything that opens those kind of doors is good.

Technical progress is based on creative requests, user needs, and involves software companies actually rebuilding their software to reduce complexity and foster flexibility with as much visible in the pre-render phase as possible.

CGI is still going to be made by humans who have the challenge of balancing a mix of fact and fiction, and what the client has briefed as mandatory, versus what is wished for stylistically, and finally defeating the software issues and optimising hardware will change the game a lot.

Creativity in CGI is already vast and ultimately will be unstoppable, for example, it can reproduce a deceased actor in CG, (re-animated using high resolution motion control so a film in 2014 can once again be starring Humphrey Bogart, or making believable virtual and “real” actors from scratch). Avatar, Benjamin Buttons…

Are there fundamental “golden rules” when creating with CGI? Can it be taken too far?

Actually as long as you can imagine and communicate, it is possible to bring things into reality. It’s not far off from the principle of Quantum physics, where the more you imagine it, the more you discover that it exists. I like that notion a lot. Just make sure you don’t over-promise (everyone has at one point!).

Since CGI opens up possibilities with complexities, that becomes more dangerous the more you scale it up. Vision, leadership, planning, execution, implementation, and changes are embedded in the best process, so there’s a ton of plates spinning at the same time and they are all part of completing the goal.

I think all 3D artists and technicians have to deal with these parallel actions and dependencies, so the more skilled, interested, and open minded they are, the more invention can exist – and that’s very healthy. Put together with good project management and voilá, great things will happen.

Many mistakes used to be made during production of live action or photographic material that was planned to be combined with CGI.

Most advanced Producers now understand that by working the other way around, that is, starting with design and CGI and using previsualisation – defining the parameters in the computer – helps tremendously to get the physics of live action elements produced properly. And because it is like a good look in to a crystal ball, it saves production from having unnecessary objects or travel or wasting other costs on location or facing scary surprises in the post studio later.

Are there any projects you haven’t had the opportunity to take on yet that you hope to?

We aim for projects that put us on the edge of our seat a little. This discomfort is actually an exciting challenge, and that together with experience gives off a lot of energy. It’s like learning and doing something new every time, its healthy. As for formats, well, its all about the ideas.

Ideas are often just emotions in the beginning, but over the course of the project you get the chance to transform them into something special and tangible. You develop a sense for what’s working as a good idea too. CGI is a great tool for that.

I like things that look real but are not doing what they are “expected” to do. I like ghosts too. Trizz is not only doing CGI for TV, web and print, but we are also taking this same knowledge and applying the freedom to invent experiences into reality.

Trizz develop tailor made concepts, striking visuals, and creates advanced media that engages on screen and as physical “branded reality” experiences. Since 2010 our works appear in TV commercials, at galleries, in publications, during concerts, and multimedia events, as projection mappings, kinetic installations, and multitouch environments.

What has been the overall public/media response to CGI in advertising?

I believe that most people who are not in the marketing or visuals business, absorb what they see with a fairly open mind, and if the design, photo, or film is interesting, it creates a new view or take on life.

People love fantasy or hyper reality or physical reality that is doing something it normally wasn’t expected to do. CGI plus composition of elements can literally enhance the possibility to make or invent something enlightening. That’s part of human-mind progress.